The Sun of the Stone
by SunnyDragonfly
Summary: Solaria Brosca has a grand and unusual name for a member of the Casteless. She is as foreign to the Stone as the celestial object she is named after and her life has been far from easy. This is her tale, from duster to savoir of the worlds above and below ground. Take note: I don't own Dragon Age or Bioware, I'm just paying homage to it's world and characters. Rating may change.
1. Chapter 1: Falling Apart

Chapter 1: Falling Apart

"How can you do this to me?! To the girls?! It's bad enough you named her after the sodding thing, but now you are going to leave us for it?!" Young Solaria Brosca awoke from her slumber on her crudely fashioned bedroll to the sound of her mother's shrill outburst. Her mama and papa yelled at each other far to often for seemingly meaningless reasons. This, however, was not. Her papa, her storyteller, her friend, was leaving them? I could not be. She must have misheard. All the same she shoved off her coarse blanket and went to listen at the curtain that separated the little area in which she and her sister slept from the rest of their cave-like home.

Her tiny feet barely made a sound as she approached the curtain and heard her father's voice respond "Love, don't you understand? There is nothing for us here. Here our beautiful girls are considered to be worth less than the dust they walk on, all of us are. We need to make a home for our girls on the surface so they don't have to...to..._whore themselves or become murderers for the sodding Carta!_" Although whispered, he spat out the words so venomously that the little dust girl quaked with fear. "I will send for you all when I get us a good situation. We deserve better, don't you see?"

Solaria heard her mother choke back a sob "And what if you fall into the sky, Harkin, what becomes of us then? Please see reason!" The shaking girl whose cheek rested against the stone doorway heard his heavy footsteps approach the place where her mother's voice had come from "I will not fall into the sky, I will come back for you and the girls. Please Kalah, if you ever trust me on anything, trust me on that." The sounds of his Dwarven leather boots then stomped off to her parents sleeping area and she heard her mother let loose the cries that had been strangling in her throat.

Tears welling, she bolted to where Rica laid fast asleep and violently shook the older girl awake. "Rica, help me, papa's leaving! Please, get up and help me!" The dwarf girl's small frame shook with fear and premature mourning as she finally succumbed to the tears. Rica stirred and drowsily replied "What are you on about little one? What do you mean "papa's leaving"? Leaving where?" Tugging on her sister's arm she said with a wavering voice "To the surface Rica, help me stop him!" Her sister's eyes left her face, a deep sadness resonating through them "What do you expect me to be able to do about it? We can't force him to stay. If I couldn't make my dad stay, what more luck do I have with yours?" Solaria's eyes morphed from desperate despair to indignant fury towards her half-sister's indifference. She could not find any words that could express what she felt.

As she began to head back to the warmth of her bedroll, the curtain opened to reveal the silhouette of her father. Before she could speak he walked to her and scooped her up in his embrace, releasing another wave of fresh tears from both father and daughter. He sat with her near Rica, encouraging the older girl to sit up and hug them as well. They just sat there for a little while, letting the tears flow and enjoying the comfort of each other. Finally Solaria spoke, though her voice was hoarse from crying "Papa, please don't go to the surface. Please."

Her father sighed sadly "My little sunshine, don't fret over this. This is going to be a good thing. We will see each other again. I can promise it. I am going into a deal with a merchant friend of mine. You know Galedon. We are going into business together and one day all of us will live on the surface where we won't be treated as inferior. A man's worth is in his own work up there, not the mistakes of his ancestors. Please don't cry my dears. We deserve better than this, both of you are important, don't let anyone tell you different." He kissed both of his girls on the tops of their small heads. "I have to go now. Listen to your mother and take care of each other, I love you both so very much."

Giving them both one last strong hug, he stood up and walked from their room. Solaria, grief stricken, wandered numbly to the doorway and saw her father kiss and hug her mother. Behind her, Rica had come out of bed to hug her, her wet chin resting on Solaria's shoulder. Unknown to them, but contemplated by some in the exposed little home, it was to be the last time they would ever see him.

**Author's Note: Please review, I could really use some constructive criticism on my writing style. I would greatly appreciate any comments and/or advice 8).**


	2. Chapter 2: Two-and-a-quarter years later

Chapter 2: Two-and-a-Quarter Years Later

"Up-up, sis, a new day of sweeping and scrounging awaits" Rica said as she nudged her sister awake, her voice weary. Solaria, now seven, was old enough to work as a street sweeper like her sister, as well as do her old "job" of coin and trinket hunting. Being a sweeper, although the pay was meager, was at least comparatively steady. When she was younger, Solaria would wander the streets of Dust Town for days and not find even a single copper or an wild nuggling for food. On some of her good days, the other children would steal her haul, and her mother would drunkenly beat her for the loss, desperate for money to feed her alcoholism. Because of this she learned defensive methods which often involved her fists and her handy swinging pouch of rocks which the young girl would use to beat off potential thieves. She automatically reached her hand out to grasp for her beloved makeshift weapon. She felt so much more safe when it was nearby. Feeling its weight, she decided to add another few more rocks to it from her pile. No one would be taking her earnings today. She grinned at the thought.

Carta hired street sweepers are mostly composed of those who are not yet old enough to do anything else, children like Solaria and her sister who was now nine The Carta provided the brooms for them to use, and with them an outlet to earn a few coppers, as long as they give three fifths of their earnings back to the Carta with the broom at the end of the day. Solaria sat up in her blankets and savored whatever privacy that she had from behind the curtain. Her sore little body cracked and popped as she stretched and got over her sleepiness. She would have to get up soon before all of the brooms for the day were gone. Standing up, she kicked her bedroll into a semi-made state and changed into her other set of clothes; a long, but torn, brown dress. She knew it was dirty because laundry day wasn't going to be until next month, but changing felt better than walking out of their room in the clothes she wore yesterday. She didn't worry about anyone teasing her about it though, because most of the kids she knew had to do the same thing. The sisters had been secretly saving up for a wooden surfacer broom of their own so one of them wouldn't have to split their earnings with the Carta, but the need for food, as well as their mother's penchant for moss-wine, had slowed that process. She opened the curtain to see her mother passed out a few feet short of her bedroll with an empty bottle of the cursed stuff tightly gripped in her palm, a common sight in the Brosca household.

"Look Rica, mam almost made it to bed, I think that's a record."

She saw her sister repress a smile "Come on Sola, don't talk about her like that, for my sake?"

Solaria smirked at the use of her sister's pet name for her "Fine, do we have some lichen bread left?"

"Yup, one half for you, one half for me. You can eat it now or later, your choice."

"Some now, some latter?"

"Sure, do with it what you will, just think about your energy. If you and I both work six paying places, minimum, that give five coppers each we should get two fifths of...?"

Solaria bit her bottom lip and scrunched her right eye as she concentrated on the problem. When at last she found an answer, her face lit up "Oh, oh! That's twelve times five, so sixty coppers right?!"

Rica smiled at seeing her sister so happy and confident. That look was part of the reason she gave her little sister these questions each morning, as those expressions didn't grace her pretty face very often. "Exactly, now divide that by five, what do you get?"

Solaria giggled "Twelve coppers, ya cloud brain."

"Good, now multiply that by two.."

"We get twenty-four coppers?" Solaria said with a raised eyebrow.

"Okay, and how much do we give the Carta?"

"Thirty-six coppers" the younger girl said, crestfallen.

Rica's heart broke at the sight but continued on hoping to better her mood "So what can we buy with twenty-four coppers?"

"We save four coppers, so we have twenty. We need to get a bottle of moss-wine for mother, leaving eight. We can get four loafs of lichen bread, like yesterday, or two nug pancakes."

"Which is the smarter choice?"

"The lichen bread. We need to work more than twelve places today Rica, I'm so hungry."

Rica gave her sister a hug "I know little one, I am too. I also know it's your name-day, and I'm really sorry I couldn't get you anything. How about if we find any trinkets today they'll be yours. Lets get going, we need to go before all the businesses are taken or we won't even get bread."

They stuffed their remaining bread in their pockets and hurried out the door to the broom building. It was a few blocks down so Rica grabbed Solaria's hand and they both ran until the reached the end of the line. Around them the ruins of the once grand palace district were filled with homes like theirs, the better ones with only sheets of fabric separating them from the rest of Dust Town. The constant red gleam on the once magnificent stone reminded her of how far this home of the rich and mighty of their society had fallen, like many of the families that now lived in it's skeleton. Some were lucky and were able to live in houses with actual doors and rooms. Some even had tubs and didn't have to wear the same two sets of clothes for months at a time, but those people usually were involved with the Carta in more ways than just street sweeping. They were the ones who the girls were giving the other three fifths of their already pathetic income too. Everyone in Dust Town wanted to be on their side of the wrong side of the tracks. Elders who could only beg sat on the ground doing so, and women in slightly seductive clothing traipsed about, waiting for an opportunity to sell their bodies to save their lives. Even at such a young age, the girls knew what that meant and dreaded the day that they would be so desperate that they would have to do that. They could never let that happen.

Solaria thought about her mother and wondered why she didn't have to do any work and how much the moss-wine consumed her when she consumed it. She didn't care about them any more, at least that was how it looked to Solaria. They were just a way for their mother to get her fix every day. She stopped coming to tuck them in about a week after her Papa left. As Rica so aptly put it, when Papa left, the moss-wine moved in, for good. As she was thinking, she almost didn't notice that the boy behind them was trying to slowly budge in line. She held her arm out and shifted her body in his way, turning her face to see who it was that was trying to undermine their living for his own. What she saw was a pale boy about her age with his long black hair braided in rows that exposed his scalp with stone gray eyes. She had seen the boy around before but they had never spoken. His face turned from disappointment, to surprise when he saw her face, then to guilt.

"I'm sorry, it was stupid of me to try to budge."

"Sodding right...but you're forgiven" she nodded to him and turned around.

"Name's Leske, yours?"

Was he still talking? Without turning she said "Solaria."

He muffled a scoff with his hand "That's a mighty fancy name for a duster." He paused "Fancy, but pretty sounding."

She shook her head at his backhanded compliment and they said nothing more.

When they got to the front of the line they were each handed a broom and given the standard stern warning and reminder about return and payment. Before they hurried to the Commons to ask Rica's secret merchant class friend Olinda if they could sweep the streets in front of her parent's stall. She would usually reject other kids and wait for Rica to show up, but some days she couldn't put it off for long. Luckily when they got there the street in front was still dirty and Olinda sat nearby waiting for them.

"There you are! I've had about five kids ask me today and it's not even seven o'clock yet, it's been maddening. How are you two?" Olinda said with a smile.

"We're fair, hungry, but fair. Let's get to sweeping, we can talk and work at the same time." Rica said, returning the smile to her friend.

The girls worked as Olinda sat by, prattling on about her parent's recent purchases from a surface trader. When she mentioned a shipment of wooden brooms, both dust girl's ears perked up. "Brooms you say? How much?"

"A bit more than a set of clothes, around fifteen silvers"

Rica, overjoyed, exclaimed "Oli, we've saved up four coppers a day since Sola here started sweeping about a year ago so we are only forty copper short! I was saving before, but mother found my hiding places a couple of times. Oh, how many did you get?!"

Olinda, a bit bewildered that her friend was so excited about a broom, replied "About one hundred, we'll be set for the year, not very many people come here for brooms with all of the food and jewelry and..." she trailed off when she saw Rica and Solaria looking wistfully at the wonderful things on the stall.

"I'm sorry, I forget that you..aren't as well off as I am sometimes."

"Don't worry about it, you've helped us so much just by saving this work for us. Many thanks again by the way" Rica said with a smile.

Solaria, while working and listening to the conversation of the two girls noticed the boy Leske watching them all from the entrance to Dust Town. She shot him a quizzical look, to which he returned a small smile and went back to work in front of their local pawn shop. Hearing her name she looked back to her sister and her friend.

"Wait, you said a year ago our little Sola turned six? So it's her name-day?! Happy name-day, Solaria!"

Solaria beamed at the unexpected recognition"Thank you Olinda!"

The merchant girl thought for a moment and said "Hey, on top of the pay for this, how about I give you my allowance for today and some candy? Everyone should have candy on their name-day!"

The dust girls jaws both dropped and Olinda's eyebrows raised at their reaction.

"What? I can't give one of my friends a present?"

Rica went up to give her generous friend a big hug "You have no idea how thankful we are for you, Oli. No one has ever been as kind to us as you have."

Olinda returned the hug, quite perplexed "It's really nothing, name-days should be special whether you have a caste or not."

"I really don't know what to say except thank you!" Solaria said once she stopped fantasizing about candy.

"You don't need to say anything else, goofy one. Here you go." Olinda handed her a coin purse that contained fifteen copper, about three houses worth of money, and a couple of maple candies that were in her pocket. She then received another hug in return from the very grateful little girl.

"Happy name-day Sola" the older merchant girl said with a warm smile.

When they had finished sweeping Olinda handed Rica another five copper for their work and they departed for home to hide Solaria's name-day tip as best they could before they could be relieved it by the many thieving children wandering the street. On their way back, they heard a cry coming from one of the uninhabited spaces between buildings. Further investigation found the coal haired boy from the broom line, Leske, cornered by four other older boys. Instinctively Solaria reached for her weapon and handed Rica her goods pouch for her to protect.

"Sola, I know what you're thinking and it is a cloud brained idea! Those boys are much, much older and stronger than you, you'll get hurt and we don't have access to a healer, let's just go!"

"I can't just leave him Rica, he needs help. That could have been us!"

"Yeah, so lets not make that us, please Solaria don't do this!"

"I have no choice, just get out of here, I'll be along, I can do this."

"I will wait here, I will not leave you alone."

"Okay, just keep out of sight."

Flustered and angry with her sister, Rica threw her hands in the air and went to stand near the entrance of the alleyway. Solaria prepared herself, wrapping the strings of her rock pouch around her wrist and centering her balance before walking into the red tinted darkness. At this point the boys were in the process of pocketing their victims goods pouch, laughing in his bloodied face. It was a bit funny because his attackers looked to be injured as well, a sure sign that he had tried to fight his way out but had been overcome by their numbers. In the corner laid his damaged, but not broken broom, which probably meant that even if he could get his earnings back he wouldn't get a penny of it. Her heart ached for him.

"I would give that back to him if I were you" Solaria warned, before her nerve could falter, emboldened by Leske's plight.

The boy who had been kneeling in front of Leske and gloating turned quickly, a dangerously entertained look plastered on his face "Who's this Leske, your little girlfriend come to save you? And I thought you couldn't get more pathetic."

Solaria glared at his attackers "Not as pathetic as someone who needs three other guys to help him beat up a kid who's, what, three years younger than him?"

All of the boys present stifled a laugh except the apparent leader, whose facial expression didn't change, though his eyes narrowed and one began to twitch.

"She's funny too, quite a catch Leske. Too bad I'm going to have to cave in her pretty little face."

She threw her head back in genuine laughter "It'll be fun to see you try, but it would be easier for you to just give him his things back and walk away, trust me" swinging her weapon back and forth, gaining momentum.

The boy strutted towards her, arms open wide with challenge "Ha, do you really expect me to be afraid of a filthy little female duster with a bag of rocks?"

Behind them Leske interjected "You should be, Kionod" and received a swift kick in the gut for daring to speak.

Solaria looked at Leske with concern, but he winked, which she took to mean that he was okay and prepared to act.

"Well, just remember you were warned" she shrugged, then swung into action. Arching her arm, she brought the full force of her weapon down on the sensitive top of Kionod's head, knocking him out almost instantly. She stepped over (and on) the unconscious boy, moving on to help the now mobile Leske dispose of the other three preteen thugs. He had one of the boys in a neck lock and was beating him senseless when another one jumped on his back, trying to use his weight to bring down the angry boy. Seeing this, she artfully swung the formidable weight across the face of the boy on Leske's back, grabbed him by the hair, and slammed his head against the wall. She was yanked violently back and thrown to the ground by the boy not in Leske's grasp. All she could see and feel were his fists flying and finding their marks on various parts of her small body. She returned his blows but could not overcome the weight of the older boy that sat on her chest. Far away she heard multiple voices yelling her name but could not place them, her world was just red and heart beats, all of her strength focused on her aggressor. Suddenly she was free, but her fists and legs kept kicking. Sitting up she saw Leske pounding the nug turds out of the boy who had assaulted her so ferociously. When all four boys had been rendered insensate, the two victorious children turned to one another and smiled widely despite being out of breath. Solaria got to her feet and went to the end of the alley to retrieve Leske's broom. When she had turned to give it back to him she saw that he had walked towards her in the meantime to meet her. Even with his left eye swollen she could see how happy he was.

"Thank you so much for helping me. I know no one else in this town would have risked it." He paused and looked Solaria direct in the eye "You are truly a salroka" he said, grinning widely.

She blushed slightly as a male had never, ever called her that before "I couldn't not. I just did what I hoped someone would do if I or my sister were in your place."

"That's a rare thing around here. And I'm sorry I called you a duster earlier, not the best way to pay a compliment huh?"

She shrugged "It's fine, it's what we are, isn't it?"

"Me maybe. I'm not so sure about you though. You're too damn nice."

"I think they would disagree" she said, nodding to their indisposed adversaries.

He chuckled "Well, they weren't being nice themselves. Let's go loot 'em and get my stuff back."

"Great plan" she said with a pleased smirk.

Before they could Solaria heard her sister nervously exclaim "Um, Sola?" When she went to look at her sister, she saw her looking awkwardly at a bearded young man standing, cross-armed at the end of the dark passageway. Shocked, she realized that the leering man had a Carta shield, sword, and armor. She could sense Leske tense up in apprehension beside her but she stood her ground. The stocky dwarf, who started as if he just realized they had noticed him, said "Oh, don't stop on my account, just observing. Come see me when you finish." The children looked at each other, both very confused, but shrugged and went to take the valuables off of the unconscious boys. In addition to Leske's goods pouch they found a total of fifty coppers (probably stolen from numerous other working kids), about four and a half loaves of lichen bread, and a wooden toy. They decided to leave them their bread and the toy, but no one in Dust Town, no matter how nice, leaves coppers. Inside Solaria's heart leapt up to her throat. With twenty-five of those coins she and her sister could buy their coveted broom! It was turning out to be the best name-day ever, she got a new salroka, maple candies, and a possible new lease on life. 'Sometimes the risk is worth the payoff, sometimes...' she sadly thought as she remembered her father.

"Hey Leske, wanna split this straight down the middle?"

His eyes widened "You're not pulling my chain are you? For what? Getting beat up?"

"Well kinda, you took two of 'em out, two guys out of four, down the middle seems fair right?"

"No way, I wouldn't even have what I earned if you hadn't come to help me. Here copper is bread, and bread is life, so in a way I owe you my life..."

She laughed "I never thought I would have to convince someone to take coppers! Take the damn things salroka."

Leske finally relented, smiling at the fond phrase "You're right. I think your niceness is rubbing off on me. If I wanna survive down here I _have_ to stay away from you!" he said jokingly.

"Hey, didn't you just get done saying you owe me your life?"

"Yeah, and I still do" he said beaming at her.

They split their winnings and walked out of the alley to her sister and the strange Carta man. The seven year old's gulped at the way predatory way the older dwarf had been staring at them. "I see potential here. You're quite a team." He was silent for a minute and finally said "You can keep your broom earnings for today. Just return them to the broom building at the end of the day, no questions will be asked" he said pointedly, eying Leske's scuffed and chipped broom. "One condition though. Tomorrow, both of you, meet me near the pawn shop in the morning, 5 o'clock. Deal?" The two salroka's look to each other again, surprise and worry fighting for dominance on their faces. "Can we know your name sir?" Solaria piped up. The man's hearty laugh was unsettling to all present "Sir eh? Already sucking up? Good instincts little girl. You either call me that or Beraht. Just get some sleep tonight and fill up on bread, you'll need all your energy for tomorrow. I want you at your best. You have one chance, both of you be there at five sharp or you both loose a real good opportunity. I think you both know how rare those are around here." With that, Beraht ambled off further into Dust Town, leaving the stunned children to their own devices. It was Leske who finally spoke.

"Am..am I dreaming? Did..did a member of the Carta just say we could keep our coppers AND offer us a job?"

"Did he say he offered us a job? He wasn't very clear about, well anything. What Carta opportunity doesn't end in death? I know I'm not the only one that has heard the night screams."

Leske looked at her impatiently "Come on Solaria, what life doesn't end in death?"

"I know, I just don't want to die yet" she said hanging her head.

He put a sympathetic arm around her shoulder "I won't let you die. I owe you one remember? I plan on making good on that. Remember what Beraht said? We're a good team, let's do it!"

Flashing him a small smile she said "Sure, why not?" She wasn't going to make Leske miss a potentially good thing because of her fears. Yeah it was a risk, but they had to take it.

Rica, still clutching Solaria's goods pouch, was staring at the two with relief at her sister's safety and surprise at the recent events. Realizing her mouth was hanging open, she shut it before simply stating "Well, that went better than I expected..." At that all three began to laugh hysterically until they heard Kionod stir in the alley and they quickly parted ways with their new friend.

When they reached their home to deposit their goods they saw that their mother was not home, which was strange but they thought nothing of it until Solaria heard Rica shriek from their little bedroom. Panicked, Solaria ran to her sister and saw her tearing the room apart, searching for something. "What's going on Rica, what's wrong?!" The older girl sobbed "The stash is gone Sola! All gone! **Just sodding gone**!" she threw her blanket bedroll around the room before attacking her own hair. Solaria just watched her sister, her vision slowly being drowned as her tears built up. "Mam..." was all she said. Rica stopped for a moment, her eyes darting around the room, and murmured "Oh Stone no...she's gone to the Dirt Hop..._"_ Standing up quickly, Rica stormed out of the room in a fury, her bruised little sister hot on her heels.

Solaria followed her enraged sister to one of Dust Town's only taverns. Inside they found what they feared most, their drunken mother flaunting their giant purse of coppers, about eight empty glasses and four bottles strewn in front on her. They could see the other customers laughing at her, waiting for the right moment to snatch the tempting store of cash. The girls rushed to their mother. Rica reclaimed her stash pouch "Mother, what have you done?!" The drunken woman pointed a finger at her oldest daughter, her eyelids drooping in her intoxication, slurred "You, ungrateful nug sucking girl, ya hid money from your poor ol' mudder. I should beat ya, ya lying hussy!" As Rica's face reddened Solaria's went pale, her tears could no longer be stopped, she was finally acting her age. Around them, they other dusters had mixed reactions to the scene; some hooted and hollered, some shook their heads, and a few just sat staring into their mugs. Rica, patience for their mother entirely gone, tugged on the woman's arm and pulled her forcibly from the bar, which was easy considering how much Kalah had drank. Solaria, still in tears, asked the barkeeper exactly how much her mother had bought. He told her about four silvers worth of alcohol. On the upside, she didn't spend all of their savings, but they had a long way to go to earn back what was lost and get to the fifteen silvers needed to get their very own broom. Also, now every other drinking adult in Dust Town now knew that the Brosca's had money saved up. They would have to worry every day about being robbed when they were working and their mother was inebriated. They would have to learn to hid things better. If their hung over mother could find Rica's new hiding spot, how little effort would it take for a master thief to? Solaria rubbed her temples, her dirty face now streaked with tears. Life in Dust Town made children grow up far too fast. Her peers with castes were concerned with schooling and friends and toys, not survival. As she walked out of the smelly pub she reached into her pocket for one of her treasured maple candies, slowly twisted the ends of the wax paper covering, and popped it in her mouth. The sweetness enveloped her and suddenly she didn't feel so stressed and alone anymore. Imagining the tree that this confection came from, using descriptions she had heard from various people, she saw a tall green giant scraping it's fingers along the sky, tickling the shinning sun lady and swaying in the breeze. For a brief second, she wished that she could be at the top of it, sitting and chatting with the being she was named after. She was dragged back to reality by the sounds of her mother and sister arguing as they fast walked (and stumbled in Kalah's case) down the street. Solaria ran after them, trying to catch up.

"Have you ever heard of saving for the future?! We were going to buy a broom so we could keep all of our earnings instead of giving most of it to the Carta! We were so close to a better life and you had to do this!" Rica was lividly yelling at their lethargic mother.

"Both o' ya, never appreciate me, I done gave birth to ya and ya hid money from me" Kalah coughed and sputtered.

"There's no use reasoning with you. I shouldn't be the responsible one, I shouldn't have to be the grown up mam. I'm nine years old and Sola's only seven, **seven!** We need your help!" Rica was beginning to break down, choking on her sobs, her angry tears burning her face.

Back in their home, Rica dropped their mother into her bed and ran into their bedroom with the remainder of the money. Solaria went in to comfort her, telling her that she was going to go sweeping to take advantage of their opportunity. Rica simply nodded, waving her hand for her to go, her face still buried in her blankets. A little stunned, Solaria left her home with her broom and set off for the commons again, thankful that she still had her candy in her mouth.

She swept as many houses as she could before the clock could strike nine o'clock and got an additional thirty-five coppers. Unfortunately she was down to her last candy and decided to pop it into her mouth, she needed it today. Stopping at Olinda's parent's stall, she picked up four loaves of lichen bread and a nug pancake as a treat for her sister before entering Dust Town again. She didn't get any moss-wine seeing as her mother had had enough to immobilize her for an entire day and night at the expense of their survival. After dropping off her and her sister's broom she started on her way back to her house when she spotted Leske sitting on the side of the road. He waved her over and she gladly went to meet him.

"Hey there. How did your day go?" he asked with a grin.

"After you left, pretty horrible."

"How so?"

She hesitated, unsure of whether she should tell him of their plight, but then realizing that if she was going to be able to trust her life with this boy she might as well start trusting him with everything else. "Well...mother found our savings again and spent four silvers liquoring herself up. Then my sister had to take time to calm down, so I decided to go out and sweep. At least I had my maple can...wait, have you ever had candy before?"

Leske drooled a little bit "Never, but I heard it's brilliant!"

"Do you want the rest of mine? I kind of started it a bit, as in it's in my mouth, I'm sorry I didn't think about giving it to anyone" she grimaced, aware of how strange the suggestion sounded.

He smirked "Sure, I've eaten things from worse places. Hand it to me?"

She giggled and spit it out "Yeah, here."

He looked at it for a second and smelled it, drawing his face back in mock disgust, teasing her. Solaria laughed and pushed his shoulder away. He placed on his tongue and automatically he appeared to drain of all tensions, a sleepy smile spreading across his face "Mmm, thank you salroka. This is...better than anything I've ever tasted!" He sighed and looked over at her "Where did you get it from?"

"You know Olinda, the merchant girl in the Commons? She gave it to me for my name-day."

Leske gasped "It's your name-day?! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, it didn't really come up, did it?"

He put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed "Happy name-day Solaria."

"Thanks Leske."

He looked at her "Ready for tomorrow?"

Taking a deep breath she said "As I'll ever be."

**Author's Note: Please review, I could really use some constructive criticism on my writing style. I would greatly appreciate any comments and/or advice 8).**


	3. Chapter 3: Reflection

Chapter 3: Reflection

After a long day of sword training and running information jobs with Leske, Solaria arrived home around ten o'clock at night, handed her mother her daily bottle, and collapsed on her bedroll. Her entire body was sore, especially her head where Leske had struck her with the narrow side of his wooden sword in the practice ring, for which he apologized profusely but that didn't make it hurt any less. But the pain wasn't the only think occupying her thoughts. She had seen Rica walking with Beraht, of all people, down the street, deep in conversation a few hours ago. Her sister's face was troubled and when she met Solaria's gaze she looked quickly away. She would have gone to her to ask her what was wrong, but their target had come into view and she and Leske had to blend in and eavesdrop for as long as they could. Leske was far better at it than she was. He could appear as innocent as a newborn or as dangerous as a rutting bronto although they both knew that he was neither. She wasn't as good at masking her true emotions so she was given a broom as a cover. She wondered what her boss was talking to her sister about, and why she looked so uncomfortable. The uncomfortable part wasn't a stretch though; Beraht had an uncanny ability to make anyone squirm. Was she not living up to his expectations as a Carta in training? Did he want Rica to join as a fighter as well? She laughed at the thought, Rica was hardly suited to fight, she would call Solaria if she saw a bitty cave slug, what a silly notion. Her thoughts then drifted to a darker alternative but shook it away as quickly as it came to her. They had promised each other long ago they wouldn't be one of those girls if their life depended on it. It couldn't be that.

Speak of the arch demon and it will appear, she heard the familiar sound of Rica's street slippers drop to the stone floor and sighed in relief that her sister was home. "I got our bread and some fixins near the fireplace if you want some, I'm too sore and tired for supper" Solaria shouted from her bed.

"Thanks" the older Brosca said in a small voice, which seemed strange to Solaria.

Cheek still pressed against her head blanket, affecting her tired voice she inquired "Something wrong sis? Did you and Trevis get in a fight or something? Is the broom ok?"

"No, no everything's fine, just go to sleep Sola" her voice wavering like she was about to cry.

With effort Solaria propped herself up on her elbow, something was up "You're lying. Come here and talk to me please? I won't be able to sleep if you don't." On the other side of the curtain she heard a loud sigh and was satisfied that her bluff worked, she was a blink away from passing out.

When the curtain opened she saw that her sister's eyes were as red as the lava below the city and got a second wind. "'Everything's fine,' my bottom, why were you crying?" She said, holding her arms out inviting her sister to sit.

Rica sobbed "You're going to hate me forever, I know it!"

Surprised and saddened by her sister's accusation she retorted "No I would never hate you, just like you would never hate me, we are sisters and nothing can change that. I may be upset with a decision you make but I promise I won't hate you! Just tell me what's wrong."

Rica tried to speak but a fresh bout of sobs overcame her. Solaria cringed thinking her words had caused it. Finally Rica regained her composure enough to speak intelligibly "You know how Beraht and I were talking earlier today? I know you saw" she paused "well we were discussing something and...and you're not going to like it one bit, but hear me out... he suggested paying for lessons for me to...to...tobeaNobleHunter."

She said the last part very fast and recoiled, prepared for the coming onslaught by her younger sister. Solaria's expression shifted, painfully slowly, between concern, confusion, and finally utter outrage, her face turning a dangerous shade of red. "He...sodding...WHAT?! Please, please tell me you refused!"

Rica scoffed "Refuse Beraht? What rock did you knock your head on, Sola! No one refuses Beraht, not now that he became Carta leader, you know that!"

Subconsciously rubbing her head she glared at her sister "Well, you are going to refuse. We'll go topside if we have to. I won't let you do this!"

Rica looked incredulously at her sister "You, my fourteen year old baby sister, forbidding me from doing something. That's rich."

Solaria crossed her arms "I have my ways."

Shaking away the threat, Rica went on "You don't know the whole story. If I do, Beraht will move us to one of the homes in the cul-de-sac. We will have actual beds and doors and better clothes and more coin. Noble Hunters aren't common prostitutes Sola. Their...virtue is saved for Nobles alone, and if I attract one and have a son...we could all be royalty, in an established Noble house! Can you imagine?"

Solaria could imagine, her nephew could possibly be prince of all of Orzammar and would never have to want for anything like they did. He would belong to the Noble caste and could be treated more than decent. There was nothing she could want more for her sister's children. But that meant breaking their truce and it hurt because Rica and Leske were the only ones she could really trust. She decided to play her last card. Staring her sister down, she said very quietly "What about Trevis? What will happen with you two? You told me you loved him. Will you just throw him aside for a fifty/fifty chance of becoming as good as noble?"

She instantly regretted opening her mouth, because a look of pure depression washed over her sister's face. The silence seemed like it would last forever until Solaria broke it "I'm sorry I shouldn't have said anything. I feel like such a moron." There was no reply "Please Rica, say something."

Her older sister looked up, her hazel eyes shining with her sorrow "No, don't blame yourself. I would have had to deal with that question one way or another. I've been avoiding it...I...I have to think about this, you're right. Can...can you cover the food? I don't feel very hungry..." Rica crawled over to her own bedroll, got in, and faced the wall, nothing moving except her shoulders from breathing. Solaria hated herself for causing her sister pain.

When she couldn't bear being in that room any longer she went into the other part of the house to do as her sister said. She looked over at her mother who sat absent mindedly in her favorite and only chair, nursing a bottle of moss-wine. If Solaria didn't know better she would have assumed that Kalah was lost in thought when, in fact, she was trying to lose her thoughts forever. They were too painful. She couldn't stand being in the house when both members of her family were wallowing in their own misery. When Solaria got upset she would leave but her sister and mother couldn't seem to be able to do that. On those days her mother, if she was sober enough to talk, would express how much she hated that particular habit of Solaria's because apparently her father did the same thing. 'Papa was a smart man' she thought as she rushed out the door. Armed with her trusty rock pouch and empty goods pouch, she walked through the streets of Dust Town. It must have been a good night because she didn't hear any death screams at all yet, just the regular muted sounds of couples...well...coupling in the ruins and your run-of-the-mill domestic disputes. On her way to nowhere she saw Leske walking towards her, not looking where he was going because he was distracted by something he held in his hand.

As they got closer she said "Hey there, Leske" which made him jump before he realized that the person behind the voice was exactly who he was looking for.

"Hey Solaria, I was actually coming over to see you. I need to show you something, but we have to be careful." He looked around for a good place to sit and to see if anyone was lurking nearby in the shadows. When he felt that they were safe he motioned for her to follow him partway into an alley and the two sat down.

In Leske's hands laid a flat object wrapped in cloth "What's that?" Solaria asked, intrigued.

"Something I've bet you've never seen before" he said with a mysterious smile.

She laughed "Well are we gunna sit here forever or will you let me see it?"

In an ominous tone he said "Ok but don't blame me if you are stunned by what you see."

"Don't worry, I'll blame you" she smirked playfully. Leske took the corner of the cloth and turned the object towards her "Are you ready?"

"Yeah."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!"

He paused and said with a horrible attempt at looking serious "Are you certain?"

"If you keep doing that I'm gunna leave, Leske."

"Okay, okay" he said with a snicker.

He pulled the cloth away and Solaria jumped back, startled. She saw an image of a Dwarf girl's face, but it was moving and behind her was the very stone she had rested her back on just a moment ago. The girl in the object had looked horrified, like Solaria felt. She was very pretty though, with shining, but tangled, golden brown hair that passed far beyond her shoulders and sapphire blue eyes. Her high cheekbones seemed to cradle her eye sockets which each had a dark half circle beneath them as if she was deprived of sleep.

"Leske, what's going on here?! What is that?! An enchanted picture or something? Where did you get it?"

He doubled over laughing "Salroka, that's you."

Solaria cocked her head sideways at him "What are you talking about? I'm right here." The girl in the mirror copied her movements.

"It freaked me out too when I saw it. But do anything and it'll show you what you look like to others when you do it!"

Solaria was fascinated with the object. First she brought her eyes up close then drew them away; the girl in the picture did the same. She made a bunch of funny faces and when she laughed the girl laughed with her. "This is amazing! What is it called?"

"A mirror."

"Where did you get it?"

He rubbed his neck "You don't really need to know that do you?" Leske never could lie to Solaria's face, no matter how good he was at lying to others, but she guessed that he had stolen it.

"If you don't want to say, I won't ask" she said, still staring at the girl in the mirror. "Do I really look like that? It must be altering me somehow. I can't look that pretty."

Leske who had been grinning at her suddenly looked confused and a little upset "What do you mean? That's exactly how you look."

"Well if I saw someone who looked like that I would look at them, and no one looks at me. Everyone looks at Rica though, but then again this girl isn't as pretty as Rica."

Leske looked at her through the mirror and said "You're right, she's prettier."

Both Solaria and the mirror girl blushed, which boldly stood out against her pale skin.

Quickly wanting to change the subject he said "Anyway I wanted you to have it. I thought of you when I saw it so it seems right."

She looked at him with pleased surprise and placed the mirror and it's wrapping carefully on the ground in front of her before throwing her arms around his neck to hug him "Thank you Leske, its wonderful!"

Initially shocked by the hug, Leske tensed up, but then relaxed into it, squeezing her tight around the middle in return.

Still hugging she added "It's official, after seven something years of exposure it seems you have caught my niceness disease!"

Seeming reluctant to let go at first, Leske pushed her shoulders away at arm's length and exclaimed "Help, help I need a healer! This blasted woman has made me into a kind person; I now have a maximum of eighty years to live!"

Solaria and Leske laughed and joked around in their little alleyway for a good half hour before the subject of heading home was brought up. On the one hand it was getting late and they needed to sleep for tomorrow's jobs, but on the other hand the state of their homes was less than pleasant on that particular night. Leske's father had discovered his mother cheating on him and he didn't want to be there for the second wave of violence, and Solaria's house was just depressing. After dropping off her mirror and picking up some food they decided to practice sneaking around at night and hunt for fallen coins and trinkets in the Commons. For protection Leske had his small dagger that he fashioned from wasted metal that was dumped behind a blacksmith's shop and Solaria had become even more proficient with her weighted sling. The duo, with Leske's help, manipulated the shadows to their will, dodging every guard that walked the Commons all night. Using the back alleys they made their way to the nug wrangler's hutch and were miraculously able to sneak past the guards that constantly stood vigil at the door to the Diamond Quarter.

They reached the entrance to the deep roads and dared one another to enter. "What's the matter Solaria? Afraid of true darkness?" He was challenging her bravery, so she had to enter "Not a bit, you just watch." With a gulp, she prepared for defense and slowly walked into the pitch black mouth of the cave entrance to the deep roads. Once her eyes adjusted, her nerve increased and she went deeper and deeper into the dark. Her senses were so heightened she could feel the vibrations of the wild nugs scurrying around behind the walls of the cave. She had to go deeper.

On the outside about five minutes had passed and Leske whispered into the dark for his salroka to come back but got no reply. He began to worry, imagining each worst case scenario. Darkspawn, spiders, bandits, brontos, and trolls ran through his mind, each murdering his best friend and partner in the most gruesome ways possible. He needed to calm down; he had to think of good things: the smell of fresh lichen bread, his warm bedroll, maple candies. Especially his first maple candy. After that first one, the other maple candies he had the rare pleasure of...obtaining over the years had never relaxed him quite as well. As he pondered what was different, he realized that it wasn't just the taste of the sweet maple that calmed him. Strange as it sounded, it must have been the taste of her as well, the "missing ingredient", his salroka who was in the deep roads, alone, with only her swinging rock pouch and her agility to protect her. Honestly he hadn't thought she would really do it, he had hoped that he had called her bluff, but she wasn't bluffing and he dreaded the deep roads. He had heard the stories about how unkind the Stone was to dusters and it had given him nightmares as a child. It had been ten minutes since she entered the abyss and it wasn't fun for him anymore, he wanted her to come back out, to make sure she was ok. He was half tempted to call the guards, but he knew that if anything they would leave her there and drag him back to Dust Town. He couldn't wait any longer; he had to go in to find her. Slowly he inched into the cave's maw, his hand grasping his knife, prepared to strike. He got a good twenty feet into the cave and could see nothing at all when he felt a warm object brush ever so lightly across his arm. He panicked and sliced, but instead of a spider squeal or a darkspawn roar he heard a pained feminine sound similar to one he had heard earlier that same day in training and realized his grievous error. He had cut the very person he had been looking to potentially save.

"Solaria! I'm so sorry, I thought you were a spider...I...I mean I came to look for you."

Hissing and gasping in pain, Solaria reached towards Leske's voice, speaking before she touched him "Its ok, I'm going to touch you again to try and find you so don't cut me ok?" She heard him groan regretfully and affirm his understanding. Soon after her palm came in contact with a broad surface that she assumed was his chest, her hand was suddenly engulfed by his two larger ones. He seemed very eager to leave the cave so he pulled her swiftly to the exit, being very careful with her arms. Once out he began checking her for wounds and only found the one he made. It was a good half inch deep but he treated it like it was much worse, ripping his empty goods pouch in half and tying it around her arm before she could protest.

"Leske, you didn't have to ruin your pouch, why did you do that. The cut isn't_ that_ bad."

Still focused on her arm, he said "Because it could get worse and I know my pouch is clean because our laundry day was yesterday. Also I hurt you bad twice in one day. I'm really sorry."

Trying to lighten the mood, she joked "Maybe it's a side effect of the niceness disease."

He looked up at her, a smile teasing at the corners of his mouth "How do you figure?"

She thought "Well, the only reason we were in that ring is because I saved your hide, which helped us show off to Beraht, and just now you came after me to make sure I was ok."

She looked at him triumphantly and he laughed "So how do you recommend it be cured so I don't end up killing you?"

"Well there is no cure for niceness, so I guess the only means of prevention is for me to steer clear of you until it wears off."

She was joking, but it wasn't funny to him. The thought of her avoiding him because he kept accidentally hurting her scared him. He kissed the bandage out of habit because that's what his mam used to do, and got a strange urge to kiss her hand but didn't.

"You can't get rid of me that easy salroka."

"I don't want to."

He grinned at that "So did you meet any darkspawn down there or find any lost Thaigs? You were in there long enough."

With a far off look, she explained the feeling of being in uninterrupted darkness; the adrenaline, the heightened senses, and the general thrill. She looked so awestruck that he had begun to wish that he had gone with her. All he felt in there was fear but maybe it would have been different if he hadn't gone in alone. The partners left for Dust Town, sneaking silently through the Commons, and not stopping until they reached the Brosca home. She gave Leske a small peck on the cheek as thanks for his thoughtfulness and waved goodbye to him before heading inside. He waved back, and when she was out of sight, he touched where she had kissed him and walked home.

Inside she saw her mom passed out on her bedroll but she was uncovered, so Solaria placed the blanket part over her before going to bed herself. She looked over at Rica who had turned around in her bedroll since she left. Her face was wet from crying and even in her sleep she looked sad. Solaria scooted her bedroll over next to Rica's and gently shook her awake.

"Oh Sola, you're back, I wanted to talk to you ab…what's that on your arm?"

Solaria avoided her eyes "Leske's goods pouch."

"Why is Leske's good's pouch on your arm?" Rica said with a warning tone.

Solaria squirmed under her sister's interrogation "Well, long story, short, he accidently sliced me. It was dark and he thought I was a cave spider, but that's irrelevant."

"That is the opposite of irrelevant, why would a cave spider be in Orzammar?" she said pointedly.

"Because…we were in the…um…deep roads?" Solaria muttered.

"What was that? It sounded like you said you were in the deep roads, but I must have heard you wrong. Please tell me that I heard you wrong."

Solaria hung her head "I can't."

Rica wound her fingers through her red hair, closed her eyes and took several deep breaths before saying "I'm not going to yell at you about that now, I wanted to talk to you about earlier."

"I do too. I just wanted to let you know that whatever you decide, I'll still love you, and I understand why you want to do it. You're my big sister, I can't tell you what to do. You practically raised me, you know better than me about these things. I also wanted to show you something Leske gave me that might help you." She reached over to her side of the room and brought over the wrapped mirror.

Rica eyed it with interest "What do you have there?"

"Leske called it a mirror, it…"

"..shows you what you look like, right? Oli showed me one before; she called the image a 'reflection'."

Solaria looked down a bit dejectedly "Oh, so I guess you don't want to see it then."

As she began to put it back Rica said "No, wait they are always fun to see."

With a smile, Solaria unwrapped the mirror and held it up for her sister to see. The older girl looked disappointedly at her red eyes and smoothed out her hair. Suddenly, her demeanor shifted "Hey Sola? Remember how your dad, the night he left said we were both important and that we deserved better?"

"I'm sorry to say I don't, that was ten years ago."

"Well, he did. I…I think I believe him. We're going to be ok. I think, I've decided."

"Decided what?"

"To become a Noble Hunter. I will miss Trevis, a lot, but we aren't meant to stay down here in the dust. He won't understand, I hardly do myself, but if I don't, we don't have a chance to become who we are. A fifty/fifty chance is better than no chance at all."

Solaria came to sit next to her sister, and for a while they sat in silence looking at their reflections, thinking to themselves about how very different they looked, but how similar they had grown.

**Author's Note: Please review, I could really use some constructive criticism on my writing style. I would greatly appreciate any comments and/or advice 8).**


	4. Chapter 4: Never What It Seems

Chapter 4: Never What It Seems

Never in her life had she been more excited. After ten years of training and menial jobs for Beraht, she was finally getting her very own, officially made daggers. She missed the distribution of weight that her rock pouch had, but these weapons were far more glorious. Her ears reveled at the sound of the duster metal swishing through the air and decapitating a wooden enemy. According to Beraht, cutting Dwarven flesh was like slicing butter compared to the dummies, so she was confident that she could do it easily to those who crossed her boss. She didn't like the man very much, but he had given them a chance to become more than the starving daughters of a drunk. He even moved them into the cul-de-sac, the richest living area in Dust Town, although still pretty destitute when compared to the rest of Orzammar. Beraht had given her and Leske their first mission that involved directly eliminating a target. They were supposed to wait for him and lure him from the Commons to a place where they could kill him without witnesses. Supposedly this guy was a double agent who had given the Carta bad information that had gotten some good men killed, so Solaria didn't feel too bad about having to kill him. All they knew about the young man was that his name was Beskin Dirone, had blond hair, brown eyes, and wore a tan Bronto skin hat with a black feather from the surface stuck in it every day without fail, which would definitely help them to pick out the right guy. It was a fairly easy first assassination job. They had agreed that Solaria should be the one to go talk to him because he had never seen her before and he would be less intimidated if he were approached by an attractive young woman than a strong teenage boy. Leske had seen the man before so he would help point him out to her and then he would follow them to the spot they had chosen, unseen.

Solaria, unfortunately sword-less for this first mission, wandered through the Commons, ignored the spit that flew in her direction every other minute, and watched for the man she was meant to kill. Finally, a man matching Beskin's description walked out of Tapsters, looking a little buzzed. She looked over at Leske who gave her a curt nod. Assured, she began to walk towards Beskin, adding a sensual sway to her usual strut and lowering her chin to amplify her gaze. She had flipped her hair ahead of time so that when it fell in front of her face, it would cover an eye and the brand beneath it so he wouldn't reject her immediately. Her target had noticed her approach and began to openly admire the beautiful young creature that had locked eyes on him.

When she had finally reached him, it was he who spoke first "Why hello there miss, is there a reason you were looking at me like that?" he tipsily slurred.

She tilted her head to the brand-less side and murmured "Well, what woman could look at such a fine specimen of a man as yourself any other way? Is it so wrong that you attracted my particular attention? I can be on my way if you like. It's a shame though. The things we could have done..." she trailed of, pretending to turn away from him.

As she expected, he grabbed her wrist to stop her "No, wait, I didn't say I didn't like it did I?" When she turned back to him, she saw that his eyes had darkened with desire, things were going better than she had hoped.

"What kinds of things did you have in mind?" he whispered.

She gave him a sultry grin "Oh many things, things that probably shouldn't be spoken about in a place so...public. Maybe we can continue this conversation somewhere less so?"

His face betrayed his weakness as he realized that what she meant and what he had hoped she meant were the same "I'm either drunk or dreaming, because this just doesn't happen. Wow, um, where too miss, my place or yours?"

She pretended to think for a moment, then looked at him like the idea she had was new "Neither. Are you ready for an adventure Mr...you never said your name."

He hiccuped "Dirone, Beskin Dirone."

"Well, Mr. Dirone, what do you say to a little stroll through Dust Town?"

At her odd suggestion, he looked around fearfully "Why Dust Town, that hardly seems proper."

"Oh, but my dear Beskin, that's the point. It's so improper and exciting. Only in Dust Town can two decent people be... well..." she tugged on his belt and whispered "...indecent."

He gulped and began to sweat, obviously conflicted. She had hoped she wouldn't have to do it, but she was about to lose him so she brushed her wrist lightly along the taut front of his pants, forcing her face into a convincingly passionate expression. He shuddered and then finally agreed, so she took him by the hand and lead him into Dust Town before he could change his mind. 'If Rica had seen that she would have been so sodding pissed' Solaria thought to herself as they walked down the street.  
Meanwhile, Leske was fuming. He knew what she was going to do and had tried, unsuccessfully, to not look over for the most part because he knew that what he would see would make him angry. He didn't blame her, the plan had been set ahead of time, there was no other way a servant caste scum like Beskin would step foot in Dust Town after his betrayal of the Carta except for the promise of...he didn't even want to think about it. Paragon's know he didn't have any claim to her, but seeing her flirt, fake or no, with another man boiled his blood. She never looked at him like that, but he never really given her reason too. Solaria was a loyal friend and he didn't expect her to have feelings for him because they exchanged gifts and compliments sometimes. Leske was always too afraid to make a move because he didn't want to freak her out in case she didn't like him back. Although he couldn't blame Beskin for being tempted by her, he decided to direct his anger and jealousy towards him. It would sure make killing the man all the more easy. He watched them pass and began to turn back into the alley, but not before seeing the maggot grab her ass. "Oh, he is as good as dead!" he whispered furiously before rushing into the shadows to make up for the time he lost.  
Solaria almost smacked Beskin before she remembered herself and brushed her already raised hand across his cheek "Eager I see" she said, hoping he had not noticed the angry micro-expression that had crossed her face a moment before. He apparently didn't because he roughly replied "You have no idea, sweet thing. I never caught your name girl." She paused for a second, wondering if she should say her real name or not, and finally decided "It's Sola." "Mmm, pretty name, rolls off the tongue, Sola" he said in her ear as he nuzzled her neck with his stubbly chin. 'Bad idea, really bad idea' she thought, severely creeped out by hearing her sister's pet name for her said by him in such a manner, but she didn't show her discomfort, they were almost there, it would be over soon. Letting go of his hand, she backed into the alley, beckoning her drunk target to follow. Beskin happily obliged. When they were a good distance in, he pinned her to the wall and started kissing her lips and neck. 'Leske had better be here soon, this is getting out of hand' she thought as he started rubbing his hips against hers.

"Oh Sola, you're right, this is so thrilling!" When he went to brush the flap of hair away from her face to nibble her ear he saw the brand and drew his face back a bit.

"Oh, I see what you're playing at now, duster whore. How much?"

"Nothing at all Beskin, I'm no whore, just have needs like everyone else."

Content with the illusion that he was still going to get free sex, he continued, turning her head to the side to assault her neck. Around the corner she saw that Leske had finally arrived and was relieved until she saw the dangerously violent look on his face. It was time to enact the third part of their plan.

"Oh Beskin, I have a little surprise for you. Shut your eyes tight now, or you won't get it."

"What surprise is that?"

"If I told you it wouldn't be a surprise now would it? Just close your eyes."

After he did so, she slowly went to her knees, held his hips against the wall, and nodded for Leske to do his part. He quickly and silently ran up, slit the bastard's throat so he couldn't scream, then stabbed him in the stomach. He was glad Beraht had asked for Beskin's death to be slow and painful. Solaria let the convulsing man go and quickly scurried away from the him, sighing with relief.

"Thank you, that was way too close. I had hoped that I wouldn't even have to go _that_ far. Where were you? Things could have gotten ugly" she shuddered with disgust at the thought.

"I'm sorry, there were some kids in the alley two streets over, I was cornered, I won't let it happen again."

As the two watched the dying man yell wordlessly at them as his blood soaked into the dirt street below him, they began to wonder about what they had done. Yes, his actions lead to the deaths of fellow members of the Carta, but they didn't know the story behind it. Perhaps he had done it to save a family member, or maybe the Carta did something to deserve his betrayal. Who were they to take this man's life before learning his side of the story? Solaria turned away from the gruesome scene. If they hadn't done it, they would be out of the Carta and her family would be back on the street. She didn't have the luxury to be judge and jury, and knowing the truth would probably have made the decision harder. She did it for her family's survival. That was all that mattered. Or was it? She didn't know anymore.

"You okay, salroka?" Leske asked, but didn't get an answer.

Although he had been the one to do the actual killing this time, he could tell she was deeply disturbed. It was the first time either of them had directly been the cause of the death of another dwarf and Leske was starting to feel it too. She still sat on the ground in thought, and he felt like he was going to join her soon, whether he liked it or not. When he finally fell to his knees, she looked over at him

"Are you okay, Leske?" At that he laughed, which confused and scared Solaria because she thought he was having a nervous breakdown but he replied "I asked you the same earlier but you didn't hear me. I'm feeling the same as you, I'm guessing. Strange and sad and thinking?"

She nodded and wiped some blood off her cheek "And covered in his blood. It was bad enough that I was covered in him earlier. I need a bath."

His gut clenched when he remembered seeing the dead man before them feeling her up and kissing her in the dark just moments before and he couldn't believe that it was his job to do exactly what he felt like doing at that moment. Leske would have hated himself if she had to go any further than that because he was too late. He did know one thing though, if he had to be executed, he would have wanted to go how Beskin went, holding her. He had to stop thinking like that, he was only going to hurt himself, but he couldn't help it sometimes.

"You're not too bad. I think I got some up by nose." he smiled when she giggled nervously at his remark.

She was holding her legs to her chest with her arms, looking at her knees when she finally said "We should get this thing to the drop sight before someone comes."

"Okay, get the cart and we'll throw it in."

The only way they could go through with what they had to do next was to call Beskin a thing, an object. One day they wouldn't be so squeamish about taking lives, but it was their first real kill, they were allowed. The Carta left them the cart and cover blanket they needed to dispose of the body, and the job went pretty well; there were no witnesses, it was a quiet kill, and they were able to dump the body in the river of lava below the city. They returned the cart to the alley where another Carta member would pick it up later and headed of to inform Beraht that they had finished to job. In the Carta hideout, which was also Beraht's home, they found the average lounging group of men and women waiting for their next job, these were the best of the worst. Curse words and laughs were thrown about the room and some thugs even acknowledged the two blood spattered youngsters, teasing them about their haggard appearance. When they finally reached the man they were looking for he was being entertained by a young woman who sat on his lap, whom he unceremoniously pushed off when Leske and Solaria walked in. "Check out the wonder duo! I hear things went smooth with the bait and switch. Perhaps I pulled you into the wrong profession, Solaria. Quite the seductress, you must have been to get that coward Beskin to follow you to his death. I'm glad I nabbed your sister at least before she got knocked up by that useless shrimp, Trevis." Leske's jaw clenched and Solaria's hands subconsciously became fists, but they rolled with this particular punch "Hey, I take that as a compliment, that only means you need me. If Leske had tried it, I don't think it would have gone as well. Also to his credit, he was kind of buzzed, I had caught him right out the door of Tapsters." Beraht laughed "Yeah, that's probably it, you ain't _that_ much of a looker, not like your sister." Leske sighed "You're such a charmer, Beraht, how do the ladies resist you?" Beraht gave them both a creepy grin "I don't let 'em." Solaria took a half step back and after four uncomfortable minutes of conducting business, they each got their allotted coin for the day and headed home.

They had looked forward to this day since they first began training, but taking a life wasn't as easy as chopping limps off of a mannequin. Solaria had done her part in ending the man's life, but did not yet know how it felt to actually slice a blade through flesh to do so, but Leske did now. It passed as quickly as a blink, but he would never forget the feeling of puncturing the skin and trachea with a flick of a wrist and upon further reflection, he was glad his first kill was a dung ball like Beskin and not an innocent. Solaria was having a little bit harder of a time with the situation because she had been the one to lure him into a disadvantage where he had no chance to defend himself or explain his side of the story, but she knew she would have to get over that, there were many more jobs like this ahead of them.

Leske sensed that she was ill at ease and as they were walking randomly nudged her with his elbow and pretended not to know what she was talking about when she questioned him about it. Eventually they were both laughing loudly in the street, so much so that the beggars around them began to glare at them as if happiness in Dust Town was a crime, but they didn't care.

"Thanks Leske, I...needed a good laugh. You always know what to do. Am I that transparent?"

"To me you are, duster" he said with a smile.

"Well I sure ain't gunna complain if you're going to use your advantage like that" she laughed.

"You're good to talk about it now?"

After a moment of thought she said "Yeah, I think I am."

"So, how was it getting groped by a drunkard?" He said it with a joking voice, but couldn't stop his jaw from twitching.

She shuddered, disgusted "Ugh, don't remind me, I was an inch away from smacking him and running away, but that would have blown our cover. But you did it very clean, that's what matters."

"Hey, if you haven't gotten him where you did, it wouldn't have been, not one mite. We'd probably be in the dungeons right now otherwise. Don't feel bad about it, we did what we had to and it went well."

"Yeah, I know. The whole thing just skeeved me out is all."

"I don't blame you one bit, salroka. We'll get through this, you'll see. Soon, we'll be fine. Wanna go to the practice ring, blow off some steam?"

"I'd like that" Solaria said with a smirk.

"Race ya, last one there's a spoiled deepstalker egg!"

A few hours later, after dropping Solaria off at her door, Leske went home to eat dinner and mull over the day. He sat in the main room eating while his older brother sat in the corner throwing pebbles into the long dormant fire place. Then, like most nights, his thoughts drifted to his partner. Her skill in the ring was extraordinary, she had so much grace and power behind each swing. She looked so...fierce and beautiful, he couldn't resist looking at her when they weren't in one-on-one. When they did fight one-on-one, it was almost like a dance. A sweaty, adrenaline filled, violent dance, him with two swords, she with one. Her face was so determined and her movements so calculated and seamless he didn't doubt she could have been a paragon of battle one day had she been in the warrior caste. And off of the job, when it was just the two of them messing around and he swore even the magma below couldn't muster enough brightness to outshine her. She just made him so happy and for a little while he forgot their lives weren't going anywhere. He knew why he was so angry seeing her getting groped by...the target, he cared for her, more than he should. Could he get her to feel the same for him one day? Why couldn't he stop thinking about her? Questions and thoughts like these raced through his mind until he felt a pebble crack against his forehead.

"What in the Stone did you do that for, Jarnol?!"

"You were lookin' at me funny, why else?"

"I don't know, because you can be the most annoying git sometimes?"

"Why so cranky? What were you thinking about?"

"It's nothing, just go back to your...pebble throwing."

Jarnol sat up straighter to face his brother "No, really, I'm feeling brotherly tonight? Girls, work, training, ale, girls...?"

Leske hesitated for a moment before before saying a single word "Girl."

His brother cocked his head to the side "Just the one? Who?"

He rubbed his neck "Solaria."

"The pretty brunette you work with? I don't blame you. So what's wrong with her?"

"Nothing's wrong with her. I just ...don't know how to go about getting her to know that I like her. Any advice to give, if you're feeling generous?"

He thought for a moment "She got any female friends that you two see together often? Or her sister, perhaps? Well, how about flirting with them? If she even likes you a little bit, she'll get jealous and want to claim you before her sister or another of her lady friends do. You see what I mean?"

Leske frowned "Really? That seems a bit counter-intuitive, don't you think?"

"Not a bit. It worked with Merla. She melted for me faster than ice in lava. Seriously, try it, she'll come around soon enough."

"I'll think about it, thanks." Leske said

"That's what I'm here for, baby brother." he smirked as he settled back against his bedroll and resumed pitching his rocks around the room.

'Would it really work' he wondered. After a bit, he finished up his supper and headed to bed, and hoped that his thoughts of her wouldn't keep him awake all night, again.

**Author's Note: Please review, I could really use some constructive criticism on my writing style. I would greatly appreciate any comments and/or advice 8).**


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